Programs

Education

Entry Point Partners with Universities and Faculty

Involved in assessing the safety implications of a fire on the International Space Station?

Coordinating a student science camp for IBM or debugging code on a new product?

As a Mechanical Design intern at Lockheed Martin’s Missiles & Fire Control business?

Working on development of a new Alzheimer’s drug for Merck?

Entry Point only refers students to PAID internships We won’t make an internship available unless it is paid.

You already know the statistics and how much more difficult it can be for students with disabilities to get an internship or employment after graduation. You’ve got amazing students and have provided great support; we’ve got outstanding internship employers and a proven advocacy program. To put it simply, working together, we can launch your students. Knowing this, corporations/agencies such as NASA, IBM, Merck, Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, Dow Chemical, L’Oreal,USDA and other research organizations look to us to find the talent they need.

Our partners “get it”. They have long been ahead of the curve and have a reputation for promoting and supporting diversity. Because of them, and others like them, Entry Point has a 90%+ placement rate, upon graduation, to full-time employment by corporations, government and academia.

Like you, we focus on the student. We get to know them, work with them throughout their internship(s), and stay in touch through their employment years.

Student Benefits

Student benefits are many. Internships are great opportunities to learn new skills and develop professional networks while working within a company or agency. Students return to school with excellent experiences, an enhanced resume, and knowledge of corporate culture and the recruitment process. Tangible benefits are:

Salary

Mentors

Real work experience; an opportunity to test-drive a career

Assistance in locating housing & local transportation

Support to navigate the accommodation process in a work environment.

Students are also invited to participate on panels, present their work during poster sessions, attend social functions with other interns, and take part in executive roundtables and brown bag lunch sessions.

The Educators Role

The role of the Disability Office and Career Center is to identify students who fit the employer requirements and let us know what type of interview and schedule works best for your campus. Interviews are done in person, via Skype, or telephone. Typically, disability office professionals identify and prescreen candidates, let them know about Entry Point, and then either the school or the Entry Point recruiter can set up the interview schedule; it’s your choice. Career Centers may also be involved and work with the DSO anywhere in the process; collaborating to support the student is ideal.

Once interviews are scheduled, we take over the administrative details. From this point on we work with the student to obtain additional information, advise the student when their file is sent to a partner, and work through the remainder of the process. We’ll keep you in the loop along the way.

Note: A student does not need to be registered with the Disability Office to qualify for an Entry Point internship.

More on Entry Point!

All disabilities qualify for Entry Point. Medical documentation is not required; however students are asked about their disability and any accommodations needed to provide full access in a work environment. It is not uncommon for a student to be unsure of what accommodations are needed at work. Entry Point will discuss this with the student and involve the Disability Services office as appropriate.

Entry Point is a skill-based program. We are not placing students because they have a disability; we match student talent to partner needs. Our partners realize the potential contributions of all students regardless of disability. Entry Point does not disclose. Disclosure is discussed during student interviews and if, after discussion, a student is unsure whether they wish to disclose, the student is referred back to the DSO.

When an accommodation is needed in the workplace, we recommend the student advise the employer before the assignment begins. Every Partner has an Entry Point liaison who is aware that the student has a disability, but does not know the disability. None of this information is shared with the manager, team-lead, mentor, or others with whom the student will work – only the student can do that.